Mike Sherry column: Let's go nine with the Brewers

Milwaukee needs Wily Peralta to be the ace he looked like he could be last September.

The start of spring training for baseball fans is like Christmas morning to an 8-year-old, high school graduation and a young bride's wedding day all rolled into one.

But as the Milwaukee Brewers get ready to take the field this week, a dark cloud hangs over the Maryvale Baseball Complex that the Brewers could only wish was a Phoenix dust storm.

Even if Corey Hart's knee surgery is nothing more than a minor hiccup, Ryan Braun's name being linked to PEDs for a second straight season must have hit the Brewers like a Stephen Strasburg fastball to the side of the head.

Those recent developments have made last season's 29-13 record over the final 42 games and almost playoff berth seem as distant as a Braun home run.

Still, the schedule says the Brewers must take the field in 49 days to open a new season at Miller Park against the Colorado Rockies, with or without Braun and Hart.

With that in mind, let's go around the horn and look at nine storylines that will impact the Brewers this season as they embark on an eight-month journey that begins with the World Baseball Classic -yawn - and could end with meaningful games returning to Milwaukee in October.

1. Young arms

Even if you believe Yovani Gallardo is a true ace along the lines of Justin Verlander or Felix Hernandez - and only on his very best days is that answer yes - manager Ron Roenicke will still have to keep the training wheels on and the antacid close by as he nurtures this staff.

Marco Estrada can be very good, but he doesn't quite pass the eye test as a No. 2 starter, and Chris Narveson is trying to come back from shoulder surgery. That leaves talented but untested Mark Rogers, Mike Fiers, Wily Peralta and, eventually, Tyler Thornburg or Hiram Burgos to turn potential into production. It worked for the Oakland A's last year. Will it work in Milwaukee?

After Peralta shut down the Mets on two hits and no runs in eight innings last September, Braun said he thought Peralta should be the No. 1 prospect in all of baseball. That's high praise and reason for hope.

2. Revamped bullpen

General manager Doug Melvin engineered a bullpen makeover that would make Ty Pennington proud. Fixing the bullpen seems like an annual exercise for Melvin, which isn't a good thing, but the law of averages says one of these years he'll get it right.

Tom Gorzelanny, Michael Gonzalez and Burke Badenhop were good pick ups, and if closer John Axford can stop the roller coaster ride and regain his 2011 consistency, the bullpen could easily go from bust to boom.

Frankly, it had better. With Gallardo not working deep into games enough for a No. 1 starter and the rest of the rotation lacking a track record of major league success, the bullpen could get more work, and be more important, than ever.

3. Ryan's hope

Braun is the face of the franchise, a homegrown star committed to the team and the city in a way we haven't seen since the days of Yount and Molitor (at least until Sal Bando inexplicably dared Molitor to leave with a lowball contract offer).

Braun is a legitimate MVP candidate every season and one of baseball's best young stars. But now he faces a second straight spring of intense scrutiny and you can be sure that Major League Baseball is going to see if there's fire with all of that smoke.

Braun's status will be the elephant in the clubhouse and will hang over this team until MLB acts. If this blows over and he is in the lineup for at least 150 games, the Brewers shouldn't skip a beat. But if there's any truth to this latest red flag and Braun gets nailed, the Brewers have no one who can come close to matching his production.

4. Who's on first?

Hart was terrific at first base last season after Mat Gamel was lost with a knee injury. Now it's Gamel's turn again while Hart rehabs his knee. This may be Gamel's last chance to prove he's more than just a good minor-league bat.

With Hart a free agent after this season and Gamel a question mark, it's possible the Brewers' first baseman of the future is 560 miles away at Triple-A Nashville, where former Timber Rattlers first baseman and reigning Southern League MVP Hunter Morris will be playing for the Sounds.

Whatever happens, it's safe to say the Brewers would like to have more certainty now and going forward at such a crucial infield spot.

5. Daze of the Weeks

Rickie Weeks has never gotten a free pass from fans because of the lofty expectations that came with being the No. 2 overall pick in the 2003 draft, but the truth is until last season he had always been a solid and dependable player.

For whatever reason, he headed in the wrong direction in 2012. Whether you can pin it on the lingering effects of the gruesome ankle injury he suffered at the end of the 2011 season or chalk it up to a bad year, Weeks was nothing short of awful for more than half the season before hitting .282 over the last 65 games to raise his average from .190 to .230.

The Brewers need better from Weeks, who will be 31 in September and is signed through 2014, or it might be time to see if Scooter Gennett, another former Timber Rattlers player, is the heir apparent at second base.

6. Future star?

Jean Segura was the piece the Brewers needed back when they dealt Zack Greinke to the Angels last season, and they wasted little time penciling him in as their shortstop of the future.

There are some who think Segura is better suited to play second base, but the Brewers believe he has the bat, speed, range and arm strength to excel at the most important position on the infield. Whether that's wishful thinking for a team that has no other long-term solution at shortstop or good scouting by the Brewers remains to be seen.

The good news is Segura will be 23 on opening day and won't be eligible for salary arbitration until 2016, so the Brewers have plenty of time to find out what they have in him.

7. No fiscal cliff

After topping out at more than $100 million last season, the Brewers are expected to start this season with a payroll around $80 million.

Owner Mark Attanasio has shown a willingness to spend to field a winning team, so he has earned a line of credit with fans when it comes to how he spends his money. The embarrassing pre-Attanasio days of the $28 million payroll in 2004 aren't that long ago.

The good news is the 20 percent decrease in payroll this season means the Brewers will still have some money left in the cookie jar if they want to chase a player who could put them over the top in July or August.

The better news is that Melvin and the front office are finally giving a shot to younger and cheaper talent rather than throwing money at older, more expensive options with little or no upside.

8. Center stage

Carlos Gomez is like that son who one minute you want to hug and the next minute you want to pull out your hair because he does something stupid.

There's never been any question about Gomez's talent, especially when it comes to his defense, but last season also saw him set career highs in batting average (.260), home runs (19) and stolen bases (37).

If Gomez can match his production from the final 67 games of last season, when he batted .281 with 14 home runs, the Brewers could have a legitimate all-star candidate and one-half of an awfully good center-field platoon with Logan Schafer.

Unfortunately, with Gomez - who spent the offseason training with Manny Ramirez (yikes) - you just never know what you're going to get.

9. On the offensive

The Brewers did the unthinkable in 2012, actually being better on offense without Prince Fielder.

Milwaukee led the National League in runs, home runs and stolen bases in 2012, the first NL team to do that since the Rockies in 1996.

Norichika Aoki, Aramis Ramirez and the emergence of Jonathan Lucroy meshed well with Braun and Hart and gave the lineup more balance from top to bottom than it has had in years.

With a pitching staff that will need time to get established, the Brewers can't afford any decline from their position players. They need a big bounce back year from Weeks and they must have Braun healthy and in the right frame of mind all season.

That's not asking too much, is it?

- Mike Sherry: 920-993-1000, ext. 289, or msherry@postcrescent.com

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Mike Sherry column: Let's go nine with the Brewers

The start of spring training for baseball fans is like Christmas morning to an 8-year-old, high school graduation and a young bride's wedding day all rolled into one.

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